CI Advocacy In Action 2026 – Presentations Available To Download Now
CI ADVOCACY IN ACTION 2026, BRUSSELS – PDF’S OF PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE NOW!
Below are downloadable PDF presentations for each speaker at our 2026 conference in Brussels. They are arranged by session title, and the chair of each session is pictured. You will find a great deal of inspiring information to follow up whether you were there or not! Do share with friends and colleagues to increase CIICA’s amazing reach.
DAY 1 – THURSDAY 22nd OCTOBER
WELCOME
The 2026 CI Advocacy in Action conference, was opened by CIICA’s Chair, Leo De Raeve, along with Teresa Amat, Cathy Birman, Lidia Best, Monika Lehnhardt Goriany and Elaine Mukaaya.
We heard from Shelly Chadha (WHO) from Geneva and Graeme Clark from Melbourne, wishing us all the best for an inspiring and enjoyable two days.
Chair: Leo De Raeve
Shelly Chadha: WHO, welcome from Geneva (live video link)
Graeme Clark: Welcome from Melbourne
Darja Pajk, Zana van de Langkruis: Two lives, one hearing journey
THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF ADVOCACY
Chair: Sue Archbold
Sara Rubinelli: Advocacy under pressure
Paul Van de Heyning: Awareness to action
Stefan Gijssels: We know the whole story
Birgit Phillips: Voices to value
Kristine Sorensen: Health literacy – a key to success in CI advocacy
Anirvan Banerjee: Breaking down barriers
Gargi Agrawalla: Designing our future
WHERE SCIENCE MEETS EXPERIENCE
Chair: Astrid van Wieringen
Eulalia Pastor: Early audition starts with the family
Kelly Assouly, Charlotte Young, Robert Mandara: When is silence not silent?
Astrid van Wieringen: The lived experience of children with single sided deafness using CI
Brian Cleary: Adult experience with single sided deafness
Andrzej Zarowski: Two ears. No excuses. Turning evidence and advocacy into bilateral CI
Michelle Frisbie: Retired Finance Professional with bilateral CIs
PARENTS’ VOICES IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES
Chairs: Hillary Ganek & Eddie Mukaaya
Carolina Der: Cochlear implants in LMIC
Hillary Ganek: Introducing the LMIC project and team
Marcela Varela Vargas: Our CI roundabout
Vahishtai Daboo: From roadblocks to lifelines
Steve Kittur: Turning Families hopes into a continuum of care in Kenya
Ekaterine Tortladze: Global voices for a better future
Giovanna Troncoso: Filling out every statistic
Katalin Gal: The impact of political instability on the realisation of the right to hearing
Eddie Mukaaya: Round table discussion and round up
DAY 2 – FRIDAY 23rd OCTOBER
ADVOCATING FOR SUSTAINABLE CHILDREN’S CI SERVICES
Chair: Eddie Mukaaya
Tanya Saunders: A Family perspective
Tobias Fischer: Paediatric consensus statements to give you advocacy power
Monika Lehnhardt Goriany: PORA – meet experts personally online
Shirin Zhumabaeva: The evolution of paediatric Audiology in Kyrgyzstan
Teona Gvalia & Sopio Japiashvili: Good CI care creates advocates
Connie Mayer: Surgery to the classroom, the path to literacy
Lora Baker: Hear me out! What students with CI need us to know
YOUNG PEOPLE WITH CI: BRINGING OUR VOICES TO THE TABLE
Chair: Qais Khan
A conversation with young adults
ADULTS: ADVOCATING FOR LIFELONG SERVICES
Chair: Barbara Kelly
Kerry Tidman: We all need a Dojo
Sanja Virijevic M: From hearing to living – work and growth with CI
Harald Seidler: Rehabilitation – what is possible?
Joke Veltman: Music enjoyment for adult CI users
Sergi Marin: From the CV to the conference call – working life with CI
Maria Marcelina: Accessibility in the workplace
Manuel Manrique: You are never too old
ROUND TABLE: DELIVERING SERVICES DIFFERENTLY
Chair: Cathy Birman
Cathy Birman: Elements of sustainable person centred care
Paul Sommer: The better the patient experience the better the outcomes
Emma Stapleton: Redesigning surgery around what matters to patients
Helen Cullington: Beyond the clinic – sustainable CI care at scale
Maryam Hussain: Towards future proof CI health care
Melis Durmaz Yildirim: Sustainable hearing care for patients and the planet
CIICA: THE NETWORK OF NETWORKS. THE POWER OF A NETWORK
Chair: Brian Lamb
Brian Lamb: Investing in hearing
Leo De Raeve: The Living Guidelines
Bowen Tang: Ci Advocacy in Canada
Shaoqing Gao: Chine Horizon Public Welfare
Sebastian Millar Santelices: Hearing care across the full journey (coming soon)
Barbara Kelley: HLAA: A voice since 1979
Arantxa Armero: Visibility, Awareness and Action
Giovanna Troncoso: Network….Net Worth
Reflection and actions